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Calgary’s environmental leaders took centre stage at the 23rd annual Emerald Awards Thursday night. A record 17 Emerald Awards were handed out in 10 categories with six Calgary organizations, individuals and businesses being recognized at the ceremony held at the Martha Cohen Theatre.

When Iris Lee and her family moved to Edmonton from Taiwan in 2006, they simply felt lost. Adapting to a new city, a new culture and a drastically different environment was a difficult task for the Lee family.

The Emerald Awards are an annual celebration of outstanding and innovative success stories concerning the environment in Alberta. Each June since 1991, the awards have honoured individuals, community groups, business, industry and government in multiple categories.

Sean Allen is waging a fierce battle in Medicine Hat against an invasive plant that also happens to be a favourite filler in floral arrangements. “People may not realize it,” he says, “but it’s a monster.”

The teenage members of the Cochrane High School Sustainable Development Committee weren’t trying to cause trouble. Yet trouble is what their wind turbine project has stirred up in the city of Cochrane, northwest of Calgary.

They met in a U of A criminology class a decade ago and they’ve been partners in crime ever since. “I still don’t know how I convinced her to come north and be a treeplanting farmer,” Brad Rabiey says.

Lonny Balbi pedals by example. Year-round, snow or shine, the eco-minded lawyer rides his mountain bike seven kilometres to his office in central Calgary, his suits and ties neatly folded in his backpack.

A tree farm that helps people offset their carbon footprint, a popular folk music festival and a bike-to-work day program are all on the shortlist for this year’s Emerald Awards, which recognizes environmental excellence in Alberta.